Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens hosts annual basketball fundraiser

The Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens hosted its annual 3v3 Basketball Tournament last Sunday.

Over 10 teams competed in the event and raised more than $8,500 for Club programs, which serve over 4,000 children each year.

The tournament was kicked off by Executive Director Matt Troy, Young Professionals Committee Chair John Sanchez, Senator Mike Giannaris and Assembly Person Aravella Simotas; and the group explained how important the Club is to thousands of families in Astoria & LIC.

“When school ends around 3pm each day, the Club picks up many children from their school to bring them to the Club… where they provide vital after school activities,” Giannaris said. “Many of the families served by the club are underprivileged, and the Club gives the support of not only keeping them safe, but also helping them grow, ” he added.

“Homework help, art, sports, computer science, and many more to local underprivileged families… the Variety Boys and Girls Club enables families to survive and thrive,” Simotas exclaimed.

Lime, Pharmapacks, Mets Foundation, and Soccer Superstars were this year’s tournament sponsors, entering a team and donating $1,000 to the Club’s mission. Phenom Sportswear was a sponsor, donating the high quality event shirts.

The following companies also participated, sponsoring a team for $500: Chip NYC, Tony Richardson, Heroes Basketball, Edward Jones, NY Life, and Red Rabbit.

The event included free cookies from ChipNYC, scooter and bike demos from Lime, and a silent auction with prizes donated by JetBlue and Aloft Hotels.

Heroes Basketball emerged as the winner of this year’s tournament with NY Mets as the 2nd runner-up.

“We are so grateful for the support of these outstanding companies. Their commitment to our mission shows why they are industry leaders,” said Denise Cermanski, Director of Development at the Variety Boys & Girls Club.

The 3v3 was presented by the Young Professionals Council, a leadership group that supports the club through volunteerism, networking, and philanthropy. The Council is led by Denise Cermanski, John Sanchez from the Queens Ledger & Astoria Journal Newspapers, Brett Swanson from Lime, John Renda from Edward Jones, Chris Villari from Skanska USA, Tom Sanchez from the United Print Group, and Joe Kim.